Prograrii.Director/Prlnclpal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): H a r h i d : S a i d M . PRQJECPTSLJMMARY (See; instructions):' ' The long-term objectives pf this renewal application continue to focus on developing a Comprehensive understanding of the physiology and pathophysidlpgy of the intestirial absorptibh process of the: waterrSolub|e vitarfiiri Bl (thiamine) at the cellular and molecular levels, how the: process is regulated', and how it i$-affected by external factors like chronic alcohol exposure. Thiamine; is indispensable for norrinal hurnan health arid is obtained from exogenous sources via intestinal absorption. Studies during the current funding period have used Slci:9a2 -/-and Slcl 9a3 -/- knockout mouse models to show that both thiamin transporter 1 &;i2 (THTR-1 .& 2) are invPlved in, intestinal thiamin absorption; that the intestinal thiamine uptake process is a'daptively regulated by extracellular substrate levelvia transcriptional mechanism involving the transciriptiphal factor SP1;Vthat tetraspanin-1 (,Tspan-1) and transmembrane 4 super-family member 4' (TM4SF4) proteins; are ihteractihg. partners with intestinal THTR-1 and THTR-2, respectively! and thai they affect their physiolpgy/cell biology; and that enteropat.hogenic Escherichia cpli and enterotoxigenic E. Coll inhibit ihtestirial thiamine uptake; Twoadditional and very relevant studies were also' initiated during the current funding period with the first dealing with the identification pf existence of a specificand efficient carrier-riiediated systerh for uptake of the niicrpbiota-generated thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) in the colon (i. e., the SL:G44A4 system), and the second isthedennonstration that the inhibitory effect of chronic alcohol feedihg/expoisure: on intestinal thiamine uptake is mediated at the level of transcription of the'SLCi9A2 and SLG19A3: genes. Based pn these new findings', pur working hypotheses during, the next.peribd will be that the SL'G44A4 system is a specific and regulated colonic TPP uptake system, and that transcriptional (e. g., epigenetic). mechanisms are involved in mediating the inhibitory effect of ch j-onic alcohol exposure oh intestihal thiiamin uptake. Four specifiG'aims are proposed to address these hypptheses, and \N\\\ utilize state-pif the art eellular/mdlecular approaches. Hesults of these studies :sh6uld cdntinue to prbvid^ novel iriformatipn regarding the physiolpgy/pathophysiblogy of the intestinal vitamin B1 absorption process. RELEVANCEfSee ihstruclions): Humans cannot synthesize vitaniinBI (thianiin) but obtain it from exogenous sources via intestinal absprptipn. The ai.ms pf this proposal are focused ph delineating how our ihtestine absorb,thiamin, how fhe prpGess:is regulated, and how certain conditions affect the prociess leading to defieiency. The ultimate;goal istbfind waystdQiitihiizetbpdythiaimih nutritilDn cdriditions of deficiency/sufaoptimal levels.